Basket



W. B LOEWENBERG.

BASKET.

APPLlcATloN FILED MAY 5. 1919.

1,354,115il Patentedsept. 28,1920.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM B. LOEWENBERG, OF CONVERSE, INDIANA.

BASKET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 28, 1920.

Application filed May 5, 1.919. Serial No. 294,818.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM B. LoEwnN- enne, a citizen of the United States, residing at Converse, in the county of Miami and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Baskets; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in market baskets of the type having a single arched handle. rIhese baskets as now commonly constructed, cannot be nested and even though they may be hunched, a great deal of waste space exists when shipping, yet the freight rates are the same as if all of the car capacity were used. My invention has for its principal object to provide a simple and inexpensive, strong and durable basket of the type mentioned, which overcomes this diiiiculty by having a handle which folds downwardly and permits nesting of the baskets while shipping, but may be easily and quickly righted and held rigidly in upright position, either by the merchant or the purchaser. By these improvements, the full capacity of railway cars, wagons, storage rooms, etc., may be utilized and consequently the expense of shipping, hauling, storage and the like is minimized.

A further obj ect is to provide novel means for pivotally connecting thel handle to the basket rim, for rigidly holding said handle in upright position, and for forming a connection between the handle and basket, of greater strength than usually exists on the ordinary split baskets.

`With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this application.

Figure l is a side elevation of a basket constructed in yaccordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section on the plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections on n the planes of lines 3 3 and 1 -4L of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of one of the plates and collars used in connecting the handle to the basket.

Fig. 6 is a sectional perspective showing a modified form of construction in which the colla-rs are eliminated.

Fig. 7 is a detail section showing the manner in which the sliding collars of Figs. l to 5 may be secured in operative position.

The basket l is provided with the usual or any preferred rim 2 and a well known form of arched handle 3 is employed, the ends of said handle however being by preference metal bound as shown at 4 to prevent any possibility of splitting. Plates 5 are secured by nails or the like 6 to the rims 2, preferably to the outer sides of said rims and rivets or other suitable combined pivots and fasteners 7 pass through the lower ends of said plates, through the rim 2, and through the metal bound ends of the handle 3, thus pivoting said handle in a manner which will allow it to swing downwardly into the basket or on the exterior thereof, according to the location of the plates 5. For instance, if the plates in question are secured to the inner sides of rim 2, the handle may well fold downwardly on the exterior of the basket, whereas when the plates in question are secured to the outer sides of said rim, the handle preferably folds into the basket.

Each plate 5 is shouldered for contact with the upper edge of the rim 2, preferably by bending said plate laterally at 8, and a further bend is given to provide an upright tongue portion 9 which is in most cases of less width than the remainder of the plate, said tongue portion being preferably of ap proxima-tely the same width as the handle 3. Any preferred means could well cooperate with the tongue portions 9 and the ends of the handle 3 to hold said handle in rigid upright position for use, and I have illus` trated two ways of obtaining this result.

In Figs. l to 5 and 7, sheet metal collars 10 are slidable on the handle ends and are adapted to pass around the tongue portions 9, and if desired, a nail or tack 11 may be driven through the collar, the tongue portion and the handle as seen in Fig. 7. It is thus insured that the handle shall be permanently held in upright position, but if it is desired that the handle be allowed to fold, the collars 10 need not be secured.

Another way of permanently securing the handle 3 in uprightposition for use, is illustrated in F 6, in which figure the collars are eliminated and brads or the like 12 are driven through the tongue portions 9 and the ends of the handle.

By using either form of the invention, the baskets may be nested for shipment, storage, etc., and may be easily placed in proper condition for use, either by the merchant or the purchaser.V When 'the handle is raised and secured with respect to the tongue portions 9, it will be effectively held in proper position and any relative movement between the handle and the basket, due for instance commonly used. Y

Since probably the best results arevobtainable from the details disclosed, they may well be followed, but l wish it understood that within the scope of the invention as 1 claimed, numerous minor changes may well beY made. Furthermore, although l have shown and described the invention as incorporated upon a common form of market basket, it will be understood that it is equally applicable to any other form of basket or container.

I claim:

l. Thecombination with a basket and an arched handle, of plates secured to one side of the basket rim and shouldered to abut the upper edge of said rim, said plates having tongue portions extending upwardly beyond said rim, pivots connecting the ends of said handle with said plates and allowing downward folding of said handle, and means cooperating with said handle and said tongue portions for holding the former in rigid upright position for use.

2. The combination with a basket and an arched handle, of plates secured to one side of the basket rim, said plates being bent laterally to abut the upper edge of said rim and then continuing upwardly, pivots connecting the handle ends with the lower ends of Said plates, and means cooperating with said handle and the upper ends` of said plates for holding the handle in rigid upright position for use.

3. The combination with a split basket, and an arched handle whoseends are disposed at one side of the basket rim; of sheet metal plates contacting with the other side of said rim, rigid therewith and eX- tending above the same, fasteners passing through the handle ends, the plates, and the intervening rim to secure them together and form pivots for the handle, and means for rigidlyl connecting said plates with the'handle when the latter is swung upwardly for use.

In testimony whereof il have hereunto set my hand. Y

WILLIAM B. LonwENBnne. 

